Sleep your way to the top, without compromising your integrity

Did you know that napping during the day reduces stress and aids productivity?

Did you know that sleeping more soundly could reduce your risk of severe illnesses, like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and even some cancers.

Well, it’s true.

However the sad reality is that many of us are sleep deprived.

We are trying to function; hold down jobs, run the household, bring up children, sustain healthy relationships and look after ourselves on an empty tank.

No wonder we feel stressed out, tired, unengaged and stretched too thin on a regular basis.

Here’s the thing, when I was younger I would do what I called “pull all nighters” and I did this all the time.

This basically meant that I’d stay up all night.

Why you might ask?

And the truth was to watch TV.

Yep, I spent most of those precious nocturnal hours watching mind-numbing TV.

Today, my mind boggles at the thought of how ridiculous this was but I did it.

If I had known back then what I know now then I probably wouldn’t have made such insane choices.

When I think back to my life back then I was suffering with cases of eczema, had stiff joints, lacked energy and felt – for want of a better word – tired. (It’s like, Duurrhh!)

Fast forward a few years and The Universe, God, or [insert your choice of higher power here] hands me a bambino.

All of a sudden the one thing I wanted more than anything else was sleep.

Between the round the clock breastfeeds, nappy changes and eating, I craved sleep on a massive scale.

I wanted to sleep like it was going out of fashion but sleep was the first thing to go, closely followed by sex, a tidy house and a neatly waxed bikini line.

Here’s the thing, amazing gifts like children make the sleep deprivation worthwhile but when there’s no justifiable reason to hold off putting your head to your pillow and catching some uber important Zzz’s then I just don’t get why we wouldn’t choose to sleep.

Many of us believe that we are being more productive if we choose to work longer hours, stay up late to finish off the report or sacrifice our sleep for trips to the gym.

But the truth is you would be are far more productive if you switched off the computer an hour earlier and took some time to unwind with a bath and book instead.

People who tend to sleep better tend to be happier, which in turn makes them feel less stressed.

When we feel less stressed we tend to treat people better and approach situations in a more measured and compassionate way.

This in turn leads to a feeling of having stronger bonds and connections with people.

This can benefit both our professional and personal relationships leading to greater productivity, happiness and success all round.

You could literally sleep your way to the top and improve every area of your life; in business, health and well-being, your attitude, finances and personal life, just by choosing to make sleep a priority instead of seeing it as just “the thing we do” to join up the days.

You know that phrase, “I’ll sleep when I’m dead”. Well, I can’t think of a more ridiculous notion!

The sad truth is you might wind up dead a lot sooner than you’d like by not getting enough hours sleep while you’re in the company of the living.

Now, we’re all unique and therefore may not all require the same amount of sleep.

But as a general rule most of us need somewhere between 6-10 hours a night to enable us to function at full throttle.

The truth is, the better we sleep the better we feel.

In fact the more we sleep the better it is for our hearts, brains, internal organs, skin, hair, nails, you name it.

Instead of buying into the next beauty product that claims to reduce wrinkles and remove bags from under your eyes, just hit the sack a littler earlier every night.

Think of sleep as natures way of giving you everything your body needs to function providing you don’t neglect it.

By the way, sleep is as important in the health and well being of men as it is for women.

I know guys that take sleep for granted and almost wear their lack of sleep like a badge of honour. It’s crazy!

You are good enough

If you’ve ever questioned whether you are good enough then today’s post is for you.

If you’ve ever thought, I’m not worthy of_____________(fill in the blank) then don’t beat yourself up. Just know that you are worthy and you’re not alone.

The truth is many of us tell ourselves that we’re not deserving of love, success, happiness, money, friendship, peace, and the rest.

But as I talk about in the post Story time these are the stories we tell ourselves because in many instances we are afraid of what will happen if we reach out and actually attain that promotion, that relationship, that new skill that can transform the quality and trajectory of our lives, that physique we’ve always wanted and the career we’ve only ever dreamed about.

It’s therefore easier for us to remain in a place that is comfortable instead of challenging ourselves to achieve what is scary and uncertain.

Even if we’re not entirely happy with our current situation many of us will stay in the same place because it is what we’ve always known; it’s comfortable and it’s familiar. (For more on this check out the post Story time HERE).

But today, I’m asking you to doubt yourself, to question yourself and to feel slightly insecure.

I’m asking you to tap into the thing that makes you feel vulnerable.

Wait a sec, I know what you’re thinking, What, the frick! I came to your blog to feel happy and inspired, man, what the hell is this shizzle?

Well, here’s the thing, realising that you’re human, imperfect, and vulnerable is an important exercise on the path to really finding, or as the case may be increasing your level of joy and happiness.

It’s OK to have moments of self doubt. In fact they’re gonna happen whether you want them to or not. But when they do you should acknowledge how you feel in that moment- and own it.

Don’t brush your emotions to one side or under the metaphorical rug. Don’t deny those feelings exist. Accept them because they are a part of you.

You can’t go through life loving and celebrating only the great parts of your character but shunning the parts that you don’t like. No can do, baby.

As the video explains, vulnerability is a powerful tool.

When we open ourselves up to being vulnerable we also open ourselves up to receiving joy, love, happiness and more meaningful and deeper connections with the people around us.

We all have light and dark sides to our personality – they are what completes us. Being truly happy is about being honest with yourself about who you really are.

It may sound harsh to say this but you’re not perfect and neither am I. Yet despite this glorious fact we are still good enough.

You are good enough to be, do and achieve everything your heart conjures up and whatever your mind plots to achieve.

You are worthy of all the happiness in the world NOT because you are perfect and do all the right things – but just because you are NOT perfect but deserve them anyway.

And if you are passionate, ambitious, dedicated, kind, compassionate, generous and a student of life then you are well on your way to actualising whatever your mind can conceive. The world truly is your oyster.

Let me share this with you…

When I first became a mum, I was scared. Scratch that, I was PETRIFIED!!

I was terrified because I didn’t know what the heck I was doing. And when I finally thought I had it sussed Ealy would go through a new phase that left me stumped again.

I was constantly wondering if my mum would be proud of me and if she would support the decisions I was making as a parent. (Confession: this is still a hard one for me to get over – it’s a work in progress.)

I was scared that I didn’t have all the answers, that I was really bad at geography and still counted on my fingers.

Being Ealy’s mum was – and still is – one of the biggest and scariest challenges I’ve ever had to face.

But it was made all the harder because I wanted to be the “perfect mummy” or at least I wanted to be as close to perfect as possible.

Now, logic and life had taught me that “perfection” didn’t exist but nonetheless I still struggled with this feeling that I wasn’t good enough.

Then over time, I found myself again. My old self. My pre-mum self. That person that was up for a laugh, ridiculous fun and who danced around the house like a lunatic.

She began to reappear and man, was I happy to see her again.

I realised in that moment that the best mummy- not the perfect mummy – but the best mummy Ealy could ever have was me.

With all my quirks, flaws, imperfections and rough edges, I was still the best mummy he could ask for because all he needed from me was love… and that was something I had in abundance and I never doubted my ability to shower him with it.

So, I think being happy is a state of mind and heart. Understanding that you are worthy of everything you have in life right now – the good and the not so good – is important if you want to find inner peace and joy.

You aren’t perfect – you never will be – and thank the lucky stars for that.

You will only ever be the best YOU that you can be in that moment.

Sometimes you’ll soar and sometimes you’ll suck.

But in those sucky times you’re still as fabulous, as splendid, as marvellous and as wonderful as you could possibly hope to be.

Believing in your heart that you are worthy of all the great things that life has to offer regardless of your shortcomings is the way to live.